Virginia Beach-based furniture chain expands to Chicago

The Dump furniture store, based in Virginia Beach, has expanded to the Chicago market with its largest-ever store. The 134,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open over Labor Day weekend.

The $18-million store, located in Lombard, Ill., has a workforce of 250 people. According to the company, it is 25 percent larger than any previous location in the chain. In the Chicago market, it’s the third-largest furniture store; only two IKEAs are bigger.

The Dump chain now has 11 locations in seven states. Its origins stem from the 1985 opening of a warehouse store in Norfolk that offered unsold pieces from its parent company, Haynes Furniture. However, the chain’s concept and identity were freshly defined in 2003, when The Dump expanded beyond Virginia by opening a store in Langhorne, Pan.TT

“That’s when we redefined The Dump as a physically-stylish place where consumers could find an ever-changing selection of deeply-discounted medium to high-end furnishings,” President E.J. Strelitz, said in a statement. “As we have expanded throughout the country, we have continued with this concept and it has been extremely successful. The opening now of our largest-ever Dump in the highly-competitive Chicago market is a significant next step in the chain’s evolution.”

The Dump also has locations in Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and New Jersey.